February 1, 2010

Essbase 7.1.2 provided a new method for storing data: Essbase ASO (Aggregate Storage Option). Whether the idea came from Hyperion or was borrowed from HyperRoll (Patents? We don't need no stinkin' patents.) was a matter of speculation and a court ruling or two, one thing was for sure: no one (Hyperion included) quite knew what to do with ASO.

It was not only a new way of storing data, but it was also a far faster method of aggregating data. It even allowed both more dimensions and larger dimensions than traditional Essbase block storage databases. At the start of the decade, people were asking themselves “should I convert this application to ASO” but by the end of the decade, it was the default method for building cubes in Essbase 11x. With most of the R&D and new features going to ASO, block storage is definitely the way of the past.